Loitering bylaw discussion raises racism concerns

Rally against racism in Leamington CTV Windsor: Concerned residents say a proposed loitering bylaw will target migrant workers.

With harvest season in full swing, there are thousands of migrant workers working across the province at this time of year.

In Leamington Sunday there was a rally in support of those workers.

Thousands of migrant workers call Leamington home during the summer and, on any given day, they can be seen hanging out downtown.

Their presence led to a recent discussion about a possible loitering bylaw which raised concerns for many, including Elizabeth Ha who organized the rally, “That was a little too close to home for me. I felt like you're discriminating against a specific group of workers which are the migrant workers."

While no action was taken as a result of that conversation, organizers felt it was important to speak up, prompting the Rally Against Migrant Worker Racism which took place outside Leamington Town Hall.

It is estimated migrant farm workers contribute $18 million to the local economy and generate substantial profits for Windsor and Essex County's multi-billion dollar agricultural industry.